I've been considering the option of doing an additional Bachelors degree and looking at the associated costs. I will need to study around my working life, so it will need to be online. I thought it might be interesting to do a comparison of what the cost would be in the US against what it would cost in the UK.

For the purpose of the comparison (although this isn't exactly what I'm planning to study), I assumed no existing credits and selected degrees in broadly similar fields at arguably the 2 best known distance learning institutions from each country.

BSc in Management from the University of Phoenix
BA in Business Studies from the Open University

There are slight differences between the two, but we all know that 10 years from now all the qualification does is provide the hygiene factor of a couple of letters after your name, right?

The cost for the Open University (using and exchange rate of £1 = $1.50) is well under $10,000.

U of P is where I got my MA, however, the Navy paid for it. Got it while on active duty. 72K is actually not bad - I am paying roughly 45K/year for my son's tuition now at a private college in Va. Actually - we're deferring it- he can pay when he graduates ...

I've been considering the option of doing an additional Bachelors degree and looking at the associated costs. I will need to study around my working life, so it will need to be online. I thought it might be interesting to do a comparison of what the cost would be in the US against what it would cost in the UK.

For the purpose of the comparison (although this isn't exactly what I'm planning to study), I assumed no existing credits and selected degrees in broadly similar fields at arguably the 2 best known distance learning institutions from each country.

BSc in Management from the University of Phoenix
BA in Business Studies from the Open University

There are slight differences between the two, but we all know that 10 years from now all the qualification does is provide the hygiene factor of a couple of letters after your name, right?

The cost for the Open University (using and exchange rate of £1 = $1.50) is well under $10,000.

The cost at the University of Phoenix is $72, 201.

WHAT A FUCKING RIP OFF.

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I recommend not doing an additional undergrad degree. Go for a masters. Your undergrad doesn't have to be in the same discipline as your masters area of study.

And neither of them are nationally accredited! Basically they are 'trade colleges'.

Several years ago, unaccredited colleges made their own accreditation standards, which go largely unrecognized by any nationally accredited college, and usually any savvy employer.

Sorry I don't have a link for you, but the accreditation system is easy to learn about. Pay attention to the accreditation letters and what they mean.

~~I think this is the only time I have ever used the word accreditation so many times in such a short response!

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YOU should probably read up on accreditation again. Nationally accredited colleges are actually inferior to Regionally Accredited colleges. NA is generally a term for accreditation by DETC (Distance Education Training Council). NA = Accredited, but not as good as RA. RA = Accredited by one of several accrediting bodies in the U.S.

U of P while certainly a money grabbing scheme if there ever was one, is actually Regionally Accredited. Just like Harvard, Brown, UNC, WSU, etc, etc.

There are so many colleges out there that offer distance learning and online degrees that anyone going to one of the for profit online only schools needs to do more research and find a more reputable and in 9 out of 10 cases a less expensive degree.

I've been considering the option of doing an additional Bachelors degree and looking at the associated costs. I will need to study around my working life, so it will need to be online. I thought it might be interesting to do a comparison of what the cost would be in the US against what it would cost in the UK.

For the purpose of the comparison (although this isn't exactly what I'm planning to study), I assumed no existing credits and selected degrees in broadly similar fields at arguably the 2 best known distance learning institutions from each country.

BSc in Management from the University of Phoenix
BA in Business Studies from the Open University

There are slight differences between the two, but we all know that 10 years from now all the qualification does is provide the hygiene factor of a couple of letters after your name, right?

The cost for the Open University (using and exchange rate of £1 = $1.50) is well under $10,000.

The cost at the University of Phoenix is $72, 201.

WHAT A FUCKING RIP OFF.

Click to expand...

I recommend not doing an additional undergrad degree. Go for a masters. Your undergrad doesn't have to be in the same discipline as your masters area of study.

Undergrad degrees, unfortunately, are not what they used to be.

Click to expand...

Very true. You get to pay $70k or much more for a piece of paper that 10 years from now allows you to do little more than check a box.

I still struggle with the fact that a huge number of employers will happily consider a resume from somebody with 10 years experience and a degree, but if someone has 30 years of great experience and awesome references but no degree they tend to throw it straight in the trash. I've seen people do it, and it's because they're too lazy to actually put the effort into finding the right person.

I remember a few years ago receiving a resume direct from somebody who had already applied via an online channel. When I read it, I thought they were worth bringing in for an interview but then found that HR hadn't even passed the copy they had received on to me because the 'degree' box wasn't checked. When I complained that we were potentially missing out on qualified talent they looked completely blank. So sloppy, and we actually ended up hiring the guy they'd thrown away at a salary of $140,000. He was great too.

I feel sorry for anyone doing a bachelors now. It's a $100k safety net and the universities are quite happy for it to become even more so. The less a bachelors matters, the more a masters will, and it's all money for them. License to steal.

I've been considering the option of doing an additional Bachelors degree and looking at the associated costs. I will need to study around my working life, so it will need to be online. I thought it might be interesting to do a comparison of what the cost would be in the US against what it would cost in the UK.

For the purpose of the comparison (although this isn't exactly what I'm planning to study), I assumed no existing credits and selected degrees in broadly similar fields at arguably the 2 best known distance learning institutions from each country.

BSc in Management from the University of Phoenix
BA in Business Studies from the Open University

There are slight differences between the two, but we all know that 10 years from now all the qualification does is provide the hygiene factor of a couple of letters after your name, right?

The cost for the Open University (using and exchange rate of £1 = $1.50) is well under $10,000.

The cost at the University of Phoenix is $72, 201.

WHAT A FUCKING RIP OFF.

Click to expand...

I recommend not doing an additional undergrad degree. Go for a masters. Your undergrad doesn't have to be in the same discipline as your masters area of study.

Undergrad degrees, unfortunately, are not what they used to be.

Click to expand...

Very true. You get to pay $70k or much more for a piece of paper that 10 years from now allows you to do little more than check a box.

I still struggle with the fact that a huge number of employers will happily consider a resume from somebody with 10 years experience and a degree, but if someone has 30 years of great experience and awesome references but no degree they tend to throw it straight in the trash. I've seen people do it, and it's because they're too lazy to actually put the effort into finding the right person.

I remember a few years ago receiving a resume direct from somebody who had already applied via an online channel. When I read it, I thought they were worth bringing in for an interview but then found that HR hadn't even passed the copy they had received on to me because the 'degree' box wasn't checked. When I complained that we were potentially missing out on qualified talent they looked completely blank. So sloppy, and we actually ended up hiring the guy they'd thrown away at a salary of $140,000. He was great too.

I feel sorry for anyone doing a bachelors now. It's a $100k safety net and the universities are quite happy for it to become even more so. The less a bachelors matters, the more a masters will, and it's all money for them. License to steal.

Click to expand...

Often, the first cut is decided by automated software. Not enough of those pre-decided keywords in the text of their CV/resume? Cut, even if a more exact term is used.

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